Interesting  pin on button... date needs to be determined.

KFAD were the call letters assigned to a new broadcast station at Phoenix, Arizona in June of 1922 by the Radio Division of the Department of Commerce's Bureau of Navigation to the McArthur Brothers Mercantile Company. Charles and Warren McArthur were the owners of the retail establishment, which was located at 134 South Central Avenue, site of the new station. KFAD was authorized to operate with 100 watts on "the broadcasting wave of 360 meters" (equal to 833 kilocycles) and first went on the air Wednesday, June 21, 1922 as Phoenix's first broadcast station.

By January 1924 , KFAD was in operation daily from 7:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. In early 1925, the "Class C" 100 watt station was assigned to operate on 1100 kilocycles by the Radio Division.

In late 1925, KFAD's license was transferred to the Electrical Equipment Company of Phoenix. This new firm was owned by the McArthur Brothers Mercantile Company. KFAD's studio and transmitting location was changed to 312 North Central Avenue, and power was concurrently increased to 500 watts in early 1927. By late 1927, KFAD's slogan, used on the air and off, was "The Gold Spot of America." Again, KFAD's dial position was altered--shifting to 330 kilocycles in early 1928. At 3 a.m. Saturday, November 11, 1928, the effective date of a major frequency reallocations ordered by the newly empowered Federal Radio Commission, KFAD was assigned to broadcast on 620 kilocycles.

A new studio was outfitted in early 1929, adjacent to its transmitting location at 316 North Central Avenue, in the same building as before. By the fall of 1929, the station's air motto was "Phoenix, where Winter Never Comes." In November 1929, KFAD was transferred to The Arizona Publishing Company, publisher of The Arizona Republic daily newspaper. Minority interest in the 500 watt station was retained by the Electrical Equipment Company of Phoenix. W.W. Knorpp was assigned by the newspaper as Station Manager of KFAD, which, in late November 1929 was assigned new call letters: KREP (for "Republic"). KREP was first used by the station in early December. A second thought about call letters for the station brought on the request for a new call, because KREP was being mispronounced. On December 26, 1929, the FCC authorized KREP to change call letters to KTAR ("The Arizona Republic"). This change was effective February 23, 1930. Also in early 1930, daytime power of the station was increased to 1,000 watts. Night power remained at the 500 watt level. Studios continued to be located at 316 North Central, while its transmitter and masts were located at 314 North Central.

KTAR affiliated with the National Broadcasting Company "chain" on June 8, 1930, becoming Arizona's first affiliate of that nationwide network. In late June 1930, a new corporation was formed by "The Arizona Republic" newspaper and the Electrical Equipment Company to operate their station--The KTAR Broadcasting Company.

The station was relocated to better quarters in the winter of 1930. By January 1931, KTAR was moved to atop the Heard Building, 116 North Central Avenue. Two Pacific Iron & Steel towers, each 180 feet high, were installed atop the seven-story building to support the KTAR antenna system. The roof was 100 feet above Central Avenue, the main thoroughfare of Phoenix. Richard 0. Lewis became General Manager by 1932; Lewis had been Transferred from "The Republic" staff to the station's staff in 1929.

By 1935, KTAR was granted an SA (Special Authorization) by the Federal Communications Commission to utilize 1,000 watts for its nighttime broadcasts; however, it remained licensed for 500 watts of power at night. On February 26, 1935, the station was granted a construction permit to increase night power permanently to 1,000 watts. KTAR became a fulltime 1 KW facility shortly thereafter.

By 1937, Sam Kahan was President of The KTAR Broadcasting Company. Continuing as General Manager of the NBC Supplemental" (both Red and Blue chains) affiliate was Richard 0. Lewis. At this time, KTAR, "The Pioneer Station of the Inland Southwest," was in operation 16 3/4 hours a day. By 1938, KTAR was in daily operation from 6:30 a.m to 11:15 p.m.  Ownership of KTAR's licensee continued to be the publishers of the morning "Arizona Republic" and the evening "Phoenix Gazette" and the Electrical Engineering Company interests.

The Arizona Broadcasting System, a new statewide network, was inaugurated in July 1939 by the KTAR interests , serving several other Arizona broadcast stations with programming from KTAR , the network's key station, and from the NBC Red Chain. KTAR' s studio facilities, including two broadcasting studios (one seating 90 people) were utilized by ABS. Improved transmitting facilities were constructed in 1940 by KTAR, anticipating a move from atop the Heard Building. At 12:01 a.m. , New Years Day, January 1 , 1941 , KTAR debuted a new 4O-acre transmitting site at the corner of 36th Street and East Thomas Road, and increased power from 1,000 to 5,000 watts, utilizing a new Western Electric 5 KW transmitter. A new modern one-story transmitter building was constructed adjacent to two new Allison self-supported towers (one 400 feet tall; the other, for nighttime directional use, 300 feet in height) , making KTAR the first direction station in Arizona.

It was also the state's first 5 KW facility. The new transmitter was remotely controlled from the newly remodeled KTAR studios at 711 Heard Building in downtown Phoenix. On February 21, 1941, the new transmitter and a plaque on the building at the East Thomas Road site were dedicated.

KTAR, the Phoenix NBC affiliate, dropped Blue Network programming in 1943, but continued with NBC-Red and the Arizona Broadcasting System programming. KTAR (along with two other commonly-owned Arizona broadcast stations) was sold in August 1944 by the Arizona Publishing Company interests (Charles A. Stauffer, Board Chairman). Acquiring KTAR, KVOA, Tucson, and KYUM, Yuma, for $375,000 was John J. Louis, doing business as The KTAR Broadcasting Company. Mr. Louis, a Vice President of a Chicago advertising agency, was a winter resident of Phoenix. FCC approval of the sale occurred in July. After this sale, Mr. Louis, now 77.3% owner, became President of KTAR's Licensee, while R.O. Lewis, now a minority owner, was retained as General Manager. In 1946, John J. Louis became Chairman of the Board of The KTAR Broadcasting Company, and was succeeded as President by Dick Lewis; Mr. Lewis continued to serve as Manager, as well.

The Arizona Broadcasting System (also sold in the 1944 transaction to the Louis interests) numbered seven affiliates in Arizona (including key station KTAR) by 1947. They were KVOA, Tucson, KYUM, Yuma, KGLU , Safford , KYCA, Prescott, KAWT, Douglas , and KWJB, Globe. Programming of NBC was carried by the statewide network as well as Phoenix-originated offerings.

Studios were moved from 711 Heard Building to new quarters in the "KTAR Building" at 1101 North Central Avenue in the early fifties. Majority owner and Board Chairman J.J. Louis died at age 63 on February 19, 1959. J.J. Louis Jr. of Chicago was named Board Chairman of The KTAR Broadcasting Company by 1960.

By the early sixties, programming was described as "middle-of-the-road" music with NBC and the regional Arizona Broadcasting System programming predominating. By 1964, Station Manager of KTAR was Ray C. Smucker, a corporate Vice President. In July 1967, Richard 0. Lewis was elevated to board Chairman, and concurrently Mr. Smucker succeeded him as President and General Manager of KTAR. Mr. Lewis had earlier been named Chainman of the Executive Committee.

A reorganization of the ownership of KTAR's licensee,The KTAR Broadcasting Company, occurred in 1968. A merger between the John J. Louis Jr. family interests, Waits & Company, and the Eller Telecasting Company interests was affected in the summer of 1968 to form a new firm, Combined Communications Corporation. The Eller Company, owned by Karl Eller and associates, owned several broadcast properties in Yuma, Arizona as well as extensive outdoor billboard advertising signs, which were then merged through a stock corporation. Its licensee concurrently became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Combined Communications Corporation. The sale, gaining FCC approval on October l6th, was for an aggregate of fifteen million dollars. Karl Eller was then named President of KTAR's licensee, replacing Ray C. Smucker.

George Guyan was named Vice President and Station Manager of KTAR in early January of 1969, becoming Vice President and General Manager later in the same year. In August 1973, Ralph Beaudin was appointed President and General Manager of the "MOR"-formatted station. In the fall of 1973, KTAR's studios were remodeled and expanded in space at 1101 North Central Avenue, which was formerly occupied by the CCC corporate headquarters. The new space was to allow for KTAR's new programming service, "Action News," begun in mid-September 1973, which featured all news and information. KTAR also became a full time twenty-four hour a day operation, affiliated with the American Information Radio Network. KTAR's long-standing NBC affiliation was terminated in 1974. On October 1, 1975, the station affiliated with the Mutual Broadcasting System. Its ABC Information affiliation was also retained. At this time, John Bonnett was KTAR's Station Manager.

In the mid-seventies, the Arizona Broadcasting System regional network was disbanded.

President and General Manager Ralph Beaudin resigned in June of 1976. In late October 1976, John F. Bayliss was named President of the Radio Division of owner Combined Communications Corporation, and concurrently was elected an officer of the company. Ex-KTAR Board Chairman Richard 0. "Dick" Lewis died at 71 on November 18, 1976. Replacing Station manager John Bonnett in December 1976 was Richard K. Penn, the named KTAR's new General Manager. Combined opened new corporate offices in a new two story addition in what was once a parking lot adjacent to the "KTAR Building" on North Central Avenue in September, 1977. Stephen E. Glueck was named General Manager of the all News Stations in 1978. President, John Bayliss, left the company in early 1979 to join a San Diego all news outlet.

The FCC approved a license transfer of KTAR and it's FM sister station on February 28, 1979 from the Karl Eller controlled Combined Communications Corporation to Phoenix Broadcasting, Inc., owned by the Pulitzer Publishing Company in an asset and stock transfer totaling $370 million. Combined concurrently acquired KSD St. Louis from Pulitzer Publishing interests for KTAR and KBBC (FM) and cash. The new ownership assumed control on June 7, I979. Stephen Glueck was retained as General Manager under the new ownership. New studios were opened in mid- 1979 at 301 W. Osborn Road, Phoenix.

Today . . .

KTAR 620 NEWS/TALK/SPORTS . . . Arizona's oldest continuously licensed broadcast station, operates 24 hours a day with an all news and information format from studios at 301 W. Osborn Road, Phoenix, Arizona. Operating at 620 kHz with 5,000 watts (nighttime directional), KTAR is licensed to Phoenix Broadcasting, Inc., a subsidiary of the Pulitzer Broadcasting Company (Michael E. Pulitzer, President and Chief Executive Officer). James F. Taszarek is Vice President and General Manager of the ABC Information Network affiliated station.

1989 was a banner year for KTAR as they were awarded George M. Foster Peabody Award in May for the continuous coverage of the impeachment of Evan Meacham.

KTAR also won the Scripps Howard Foundation "Jack R. Howard" Award for excellence in local broadcast journalism, again for the impeachment and Arizona Senate trial of Evan Meacham. The Radio-Television News Directors Association, Inc. has just awarded KTAR the 1989 RTNDA National Edward R. Murrow Award for Continuing Coverage in radio.